(Peruvian ginseng)
Traditional food of the Peruvian Andes related to radish and turnip. Difficult to propagate at lower elevations, in its native alpine zones the ground-hugging plant forms fleshy roots that can be eaten as a vegetable or ground and dried to a powder for herbal preparations. Properly dried and stored, the root powder will retain its potency for years. The popularity of maca root has exploded over the past decade as interest in the traditional use and properties of the herb became more widely known. Maca has a reputation similar to ginseng (to which it is not related) for increasing memory, energy and stamina, and is popularly considered an aphrodisiac for both sexes. A dietary staple for indigenous peoples in the Andes since pre-Incan times, it has been traded for other commodities and rendered as taxes to the invading Spanish. The Inca consumed it prior to going into war to increase their strength. The chemical p-methoxybenzyl isothiocyanate in maca is thought to be responsible for its reputed aphrodisiac quality, however clinical tests have not yet identified the exact mechanism by which it produces this effect.